This invention relates to sensor arrangements for spatially and temporally varying measurements of force or pressure in which a support material has column and line conductor paths capable of being supplied with voltages.
Sensor arrangements having a support material which is a plastic film on which the column and line conductor paths are applied by screen printing are known. Between the conductor paths of these arrangements, a conductive link is provided which has a resistance that varies in response to application of compressive forces. One disadvantage of such conventional sensor arrangements is that they have a low bending and bulging flexibility and are especially susceptible to interference caused by crinkling of the support material. Another disadvantage of the conventional pressure sensing films is that they must be applied to the surface of an object to which the pressure or force which is to be measured is applied. Therefore the sensor arrangement alters structural and/or functional properties of the surface of specimen, for example the frictional behavior of the surface, in a detrimental manner. This is especially disadvantageous in safety experiments using anthropomorphic test figures ("dummies") in the automotive field.